In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
Good Morning. This is Craig Gordon
with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain
weather advisory for the western Uinta Mountains including but not limited to
the terrain surrounding Chalk Creek, Smith-Moorehouse, the Mirror Lake Highway,
and Woodland. The avalanche danger could be slightly higher today on the
Evanston side of the range as well as near Daniels, as these regions have a
shallower snowpack.
This
advisory is made possible through a generous grant provided by Utah State
Parks. This will be the last weekend of regularly scheduled advisories. I’ll
post some general avalanche awareness information this week, in order to help
you make your own snowpack decisions.
Today
is Sunday, April 13, 2003, and it’s 7:30 in the morning.
Current Conditions:
Under a veil of clouds overnight
low temperatures barely dipped below freezing, even at the highest elevations.
Southerly winds have died down for the time being and are in the 10-20 mph
range with gusts in the 30’s along the highest ridges. The riding and turning
conditions are a bit underwhelming especially below about 9,500’ as the
snowpack at mid elevation hasn’t received a solid refreeze for several nights.
In the high country above timberline the crusts are a bit more supportable.
Avalanche Conditions:
The warm weather continues to
take its toll on the strength of the snowpack and in much of the mid and lower
elevation terrain the snow has become completely unsupportable. Near the ground
the weak facets that have plagued our snowpack all year are becoming damp and
cohesionless. Today at elevations below about 9,500’ it may be possible for avalanches
to step down into this weak snow near the ground taking out what’s left of this
seasons snowpack.
So if you still insist on
getting out on the snow today I’d suggest traveling into the upper elevations
where the temperatures have been cooler and the snowpack is noticeably
stronger. Above timberline I’m still concerned about steep, rocky terrain where
the snowpack has been shallow and weak all year. Several natural wet avalanches
have occurred in this type of terrain during the heat of the day and these
slides were starting as small, wet point releases, which quickly stepped down
into weak snow near the ground.
Remember that the sun is high
in the sky these days and its strong warming effects can be felt on all
aspects.
A good rule of thumb this
time of year is to get on the snow early when it’s firm and supportable. If you
find yourself sinking in much past your boot tops, it’s either time to change
aspect or get off the snow entirely. Also be aware of natural signs of
instability such as roller balls careening down the slope or small point
release avalanches. As the day progresses you’ll want to get off of and out
from under any steep slope.
Bottom Line:
At mid elevations below about
9,500’ the avalanche danger is MODERATE this morning on all steep
slopes. Human triggered avalanches are possible. The danger may rise to CONSIDERABLE
with daytime heating.
Above timberline the
avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning but will rise to
MODERATE as the day progresses.
Mountain Weather:
A strong and mild southwest flow
will remain over the state today producing warm and windy conditions. High
temperatures at 8,000’ will be in the mid to upper 50’s and at 10,000’ in the
upper 40’s. Overnight lows will be in the lower 30’s. Winds will be out of the south
at speeds of 15-30 mph and should increase throughout the day. Skies should be
partly sunny today, becoming mostly cloudy during the evening hours. On Monday
things should start to get interesting as a cold Pacific system moves into the
area. It looks like snow will start to develop late in the afternoon with a
good shot coming in Monday night into Tuesday. A bit of a break on Wednesday
with a return to cool, unsettled weather for the last half of the week.
General Information:
If you’re getting out and
about we’d still like to hear from you, especially if you see or trigger an
avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to [email protected] or fax to 801-524-6301.
The information in this
advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its
content.
This advisory describes
general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
The Salt Lake office will
continue to issue afternoon avalanche advisories as needed until about the end
of April. You can obtain that information on the internet as well as by phone
at 801-364-1581.
I’d like to thank those of
you who helped to support this program all season. In particular a big thanks
goes out to Utah State Parks, the Kamas and Evanston Ranger Districts, Arctic
Cat Snowmobiles, and all of you who were diligent in calling in timely snowpack
and avalanche observations.
I will update this advisory
by 7:30 a.m. on Monday, April 14, 2003 with some general avalanche and snowpack
information.
Thanks for calling